One of the biggest problems people have when ultralight fishing is dealing with breaking off fish, or having their line snap at some of the worst times. This problem can easily be avoided if you take a look at the underlying problem of what exactly causes the line to break. Over the years, I have figured out a few techniques for making sure that all the fish you hook up with stay attached so you can get them to the bank.
Don’t Burn The Line
When you are tying your knots and cinching them down you run the risk of burning the line, which greatly weakens it. Because you are dealing with ultralight fishing lines, this turns into a problem very quickly. In order to make sure it doesn’t happen, you want to use a small amount of saliva, or other lubricant on the knot while you are tightening it down.
Check Your Knots
Each time that you catch a fish you are putting large amounts of pressure on the knots you’ve tied. This is one of the most common reasons that the line snaps, or why so many ultralight anglers believe that it has snapped. You can keep this from happening by putting the knots through a visual inspection after each fish you catch, and retying them if you notice that it may not be as sturdy as it should be.
Use Your Fingers On The Line
Heavier lines are capable of withstanding a fair amount of punishment. Ultralight lines, on the other hand, cannot be dragged along the rocks, stumps, or other debris without causing small nicks and cuts in the line. These cuts and nicks will cause the line to snap when you hook up with a fish. You can tell when there are nicks in the line by running your fingers down it and making sure that it is smooth. If you notice that it isn’t, cut the line above the scratch or nick and retie your lure to avoid having it snap at the weak spot.
Set Your Drag Properly
In a previous article we taught you how to set the drag on your ultralight fishing reel properly. This is crucial to making sure that you are not going to be applying more pressure on the line than it is designed to withstand. Having the drag set too heavily is great for a hook-set, but as soon as the fish takes off running, or you hook into a fish heavier than the lb test rating of the line you’re using, you are going to run into problems.
Keep Fresh Line On Your Reel
At the beginning of each fishing season you want to take the time to prepare your reels for the coming months. You need to un-spool the old line and spool on fresh line to ensure that you are not going to have any hidden problems deep in the reel that you may not notice until you are out on the water having a great day.
Invest in Quality Equipment
If fishing is a regular hobby for you, it makes sense to spend more for a rod and other materials that are going to last. Here are a few recommendations for strong fishing rods.
More Maintenance and Repair Ideas
To get the most life out of equipment, invest in proper maintenance of your ultralight gear. Check out guide to taking care of your spinning reel. We also have a guide to help your avoid breaking your ultralight fishing rod. Hopefully these tips keep your gear in one piece. If you do happen to accidentally snap the tip of your fishing rod, try this technique to quickly fix it.
Thanks for all the great reminders on Ultralight fishing. Really enjoy them!
I find the last tip is the most important. I always change my line every year and never have any issues with fish breaking my line.
I change my line even more often than that. I sometimes run into a huge lunker, and the last thing a want is to loose it.